Tamil Nadu feels dengue sting, reports 4,000 cases & counting even before rains set in
The rise in cases even before the State entered the wet monsoon season has kept the health department officials on their toes.
Illustration by Saai
CHENNAI: The number of dengue cases in Tamil Nadu is seeing a surge, with more than 4,000 cases of dengue being reported in the State this year till now. The rise in cases even ahead of the State entering the wet monsoon season has kept the health department officials on their toes.
Tamil Nadu has recorded 136 dengue cases this month until May 16. The spurt was the highest in January with more than 1,200 cases, which dropped in March and April. However, several districts continue to see a surge in the last few weeks.
In 2023, the State recorded 8,953 cases of dengue with 10 deaths. Till September 17, it was 4,148 cases and three deaths, and the surge was mainly in the last four months of the year. This year, mortality remains low with only one death has been recorded so far (in January), claim officials.
Perambalur saw a dengue outbreak in April with 22 people testing positive, while the numbers are also climbing in Theni, Namakkal, Ariyalur, Tiruvannamalai, Dindigul, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Coimbatore and Thanjavur.
As per the usual trend, the numbers usually drop in the summer months of May and June and climb after the August-September rains. Currently, over 300 cases are being reported in a month. While the moderate to heavy rainfall over the delta and interior districts has brought relief from the heat, it has raised threats of a surge in mosquito-borne diseases, especially dengue and malaria.
Besides dengue, outbreaks of fever, chickenpox, mumps, measles and acute diarrhoeal diseases are also being reported in the State, as per the data from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
The Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine recently issued guidelines for dengue control and prevention, stressing time-bound Aedes larval survey and monitoring of the vector density in the State. The surveys will be done at the village panchayat, town panchayat, municipality or corporation ward level and measures taken to prevent the outbreak.
Meanwhile, officials from the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine have engaged workers for mass cleaning and chlorination to check domestic breeding. A Rapid Response Team has also been formed to undertake control measures at the block level.
